The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has solicited the support of the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the realisation of landed properties of banks in-liquidation within the FCT to enable it pay depositors of affected closed banks.
The Director, Communication & Public Affairs Department of the corporation, Mallam Bashir Nuhu, quoted the Chairman of the NDIC Board of Directors, Mrs. Ronke Sokefun, as making the plea when she led a delegation of the corporation’s Board and Management on a courtesy to the FCT Minister, Mallam Mohammed Musa Bello, in Abuja.
According to her, the corporation had faced some problems in the full payment of trapped depositors’ funds as a result of difficulty in realising assets of banks in-liquidation due to poor documentation by the banks, revocation of title by authorities and litigations over the assets.
Noting that some of the assets were located within the FCT, the chairman said the support of the ministry in realising them would assist the corporation in the effective discharge of its mandate of deposit guarantee, which ensures that depositors recover their savings in the event of bank failure.
In his remarks, NDIC’s Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Bello Hassan, elaborated on the roles and relationship between the NDIC and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in the management of banks assets.
He explained that the NDIC, as a liquidator, focuses on the assets of closed banks following revocation of their licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) while AMCON is involved with only Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) of existing banks acquired by it.
Responding, the FCT Minister pointed out that problems relating to landed properties in the FCT were usually not caused by the Ministry but from issues arising from the title of such properties.
He, however, promised that the Ministry would be ready to assist the corporation in resolving issues relating to its properties and those of banks in-liquidation in the FCT within the ambit of the law.
The minister commended the corporation for its active support of the development in the FCT education sector through the donation of furniture and books as well as its financial assistance in support of the ministry’s fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic.
